Getting to Ever After
by gaga93
Summary: What if Danielle and Henry did not immediately tell the King and Queen. What if Daniella worked in the palace as a servant until they were ready to tell them. Takes place immediately after Henry asks Daniella to be his wife. First Fan-fic. PLEASE REVIEW
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"I can't wait to bring you home and show you off to everyone, Danielle. You will never be in need again. I don't think I've ever been so happy before in my entire life. I love you and soon the whole world will know it." Henry gazed at her as he spoke in a way that made Danielle's heart skip a beat. But Danielle grew up a life outside of the castle, and although she too, for the first time in her life was just happy to be in love, she had a much more sensible head on her shoulders.

"Henry, but you have to look at this rationally! I can't just run off and marry you." She said in a stressed tone.

"What do you mean? Do you not want to be married to me?! I thought that's what you wanted." Asked Henry in a state of panic. After all He literally just broke off a whole treaty with Spain for the love of a commoner. Not that he minded that she was a commoner now, but he was still risking so much.

"Of course I want to marry you!" she exclaimed. She had thought he of all people would have understood. "But Henry, I am a servant-girl. And you…. You are the Prince of France!"

"So? Do you still think I care about that?" He asked sort of relieved that this was her only reason for not wanting to be married. But still he wondered how it was still possible for her to think that he did not love her with every fiber of his being. For her to think it mattered at all to him what station she was in. Sure, at first he could not handle this information but he called off his wedding for her!

"It's not that I think you care, my love, but how would your parents take it?" she asked meekly. "It's against the law what I have done. Dressing outside of my station to share evenings with the crown prince of France should be my ticket to the Americas… or worse." Henry grimaced at her tone of voice and the notion of them sending her anywhere outside of his view. "Something tells me that Your Royal Highness will not be too thrilled, especially with all that is happening in the country now, that a peasant girl is the sole reason for the broken treaty with Spain! And now said peasant girl wants to marry his only son! We're talking about in-laws who have full authority to order my head chopped off." Henry practically growled at this statement. Danielle broke out into tiny sobs. Almost by instinct Henry wrapped his arms around her and cradled her the way he wished he'd done a long time ago for all her sorrows. But the impact of her words was still hitting him.

"I don't care what they think! Now that I know about you and have realized how much I truly do love you. I cannot live without you. It is impossible!" He exclaimed his eyes burning into her face. "We'll have to make this work. You, princess, will be my wife. I see your point though maybe this isn't the best time to announce our impending marriage… But we will eventually, I promise you that… I don't think that I can wait very long." He admitted without the least bit of shame in his facial expression. "I guess I can go back to my step-mothers home and continue to sneak out to see you. It will hopefully be easier now that you know who I a-"she started but was cut off abruptly by Henry. "What!? There is no way I am sending you back there! After the way they treated you. There must be another way. I'd sooner just tell my father the truth. Besides I think after the ball they will be keeping a much tighter eye on your and my whereabouts." He scowled at the idea but knew it was true.

"Well Henry I've got to live SOMEWHERE! It's not like I can just move into the castle with you! Wait that's the perfect plan!" She exclaimed suddenly.

"What is?"Henry asked confused at what she was getting.

"I'll move into the castle."

Henry chuckled to himself, partly amused by her with her idealism and partly frustrated by once again being out of a solution.

"Darling, although the castle is very large I do believe SOMEONE would notice if you took residence in one of the bedrooms. Besides, you do need to eat." He explained in a light tone.

"No you don't understand! I would move in as a servant." Danielle explained as if it was one of the most obvious things in the world.

"WHAT?!"

"It's so simple." She continued ignoring his outburst. "This way I can be near you, get to know the castle, and not have to deal with my charming stepmother here and her ploys to have you marry my hag of a sister!" Danielle explained becoming more excited with each syllable.

"That is sick. That is actually sick. I will not have my wife waiting on me and my family. You are supposed to be welcomed into the family not cleaning after it. No. New plan." He said with a look of horror on his face from the mere idea.

"But Henry-" She tried to continue but he would not hear it.

"No! No buts. We will have to find another way."

"Henry," She started a little more frustrated this time. "It's the best way and you know it. This way we can at least be near each other. I don't want to be far from you anymore. If this is the only way to be in the castle then so be it."She stated strongly. Henry looked into her strong face and knew he'd lost. He couldn't live without her either.

"I hate that this is the only way for you to live in your own home. But okay I'm willing to try it but if it doesn't work then we're just going to tell my father or run for the hills. Agreed? I promise you that I will marry you someday but I am willing to wait for now."He stated showing her that if she would agree he'd take her as his wife right now no matter what his father said.

"Okay, agreed." She said. "Now where were we before all this?" She asked with in a mischievous tone.

"Hmmm… I think I might be able to remind you." He reached out for her and kissed her passionately, hungrily, knowing that this might be their last chance to share with each other openly for some time.

Henry and Danielle walked and talked and basked in eachother's company their whole trip through the forest towards the palace.

"I think I see it now. Yes, there it is. The palace."Danielle said, though still hoping she could have walked with her fiancé for a little while longer.

"You know, we don't need to return just yet….." Henry looked at her pleadingly hoping that he would not have to start his new life with Danielle this torturous way just yet.

"Henry, it's late they'll be wondering where you've been. I think that now of all times we should try to draw the least amount of attention possible to ourselves. After all this plan will only work if no one recognizes me from the ball." rationalized Danielle.

"All right, the palace it is."Henry replied.

"Home." Danielle said with a slight smile appearing at her lips.

"Home."Henry repeated with emotion hidden in his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Okay once we go through this gate, I'll tell Mary…Mary… whats her name, I'll tell Mary whoever that I ughh 'acquired' you and that I want you to be moved into…servants quarters tonight. Now, you must walk behind me on our way in so nothing looks suspicious." Henry looked physically pained to have to say any of these words, but he knew that this was the only way, for now they can be together.

"Okay I understand." Danielle said.

So they approached the castle, with Danielle making sure to remain at least ten feet behind him at all times.

Henry continued until he came across Madame Mary DeVaulle, the head of staff at the castle. M. DeVaulle was known for having a strong hand with her workers but a flirtatious manner with many of the guards.

"Good Evening, M. Devaulle, you look well this evening." Henry spoke in the most casual tone he could muster.

"Good evening your highness" she said with a bow and a bat of her eyelids. "To what do I owe the honor of this most welcome visit."

"I am actually here to bring you a new peasant I have found. I have learned she's a good worker and I want her put into place at once amongst the servants." Henry knew this sounded odd but he hoped M. DeVaulle would be too shocked to ask questions.

"But your highness that is not your job or responsibility to deal with such lowly manners. We have a highly trained staff to pick out the best workers for the palace." M. Devaulle said with the slightest tone of arguing.

"Are you questioning _my_ judgment?"asked Henry a little too forcefully.

"N..n..no your majesty but--"

"Good that settles things then. I can trust you will bring her to servant's quarters alright then? I plan to see her around the castle M. DeVaulle, don't mistake it."Though these words were directed at M. DeVaulle his eyes were directed at the other female in the vicinity. M. DeVaulle noticed. Henry walked away without looking back again.

"So the Prince has taken interest in you. I can't see why. You look as just as much of an ill bred worthless piece of filth as the rest of them. All right come with me, prince's pet."M. DeVaulle sneered in Danielle's direction. Danielle had to bite her tongue not to respond, too much was at stake. So instead she just nodded and followed.

"Here at the palace, I am in charge. You shall address me as Madame and nothing else. You are the lowest of the low here. The prince might have taken pity on you but I assure you that no one else here will. You do not matter and I'm sure after today the prince will forget entirely of your very existence. You do not only clean your messes but everyone else's as well. You are too good for nothing here. These are the servants' quarters" she said pointing to a structure that looked more like a long wood stable than a place for human habitation but Danielle realized it would have to do.

"There is an empty bed at the end for you with your uniform stored beneath. Wake up is at 5:00 am sharp breakfast break until 5:15. Good night." M. DeVaulle left and Daniella hadn't been so happy to see the back of a person's head since Marguerite had gone away for her 7 week trip to London two years back.

"You know we're not all bad here. M. DeVaulle's the worst, everyone hates her. But besides life is actually alright here." Said a small girl with mousy brown hair and a petite frame looking no older than 17 years old.

The girl introduced herself "Hello, my name is Abigail. But you can call me Abby if you like." The girl said with a bright smile on her face.

"Hello Abigail my name is Danielle. Danielle DeBarberaque. Do we see that awful women often?"Danielle asked.

"Unfortunately at least once a day in the morning to get assigned our duties for the day. But luckily not much more than that. She really is a buzz kill I'll admit." Said Abigail still maintaining her smile. Danielle was so impressed at how welcoming and nice Abigail was. She took this as a sign she was doing the right thing.

"So how often do we see the royal family?" As Danielle spoke, for the first time she saw the smile fade from her lips. "Well the King and Queen, depends on your job but still not terribly often. Between 3-5 times a week. Maybe more or less depending on your role. The prince on the other hand bless the lord you rarely ever see him." Said Abby with a more than slightly bitter tone. But never the less although curious, Danielle still liked her.


	3. Chapter 3

Danielle's first night in the servants' quarters was not that bad. Luckily she was already used to less than mediocre accommodations from her "bedroom", if you could call it that, in her father's old home. The servants' quarter was really just a long wooden cabin with cots set up along the walls on either side. She had already made her first friend, Abby and many other of the girls were friendly enough. Danielle did wonder though why Abby seemed to hate her fiancé (which of course she did not tell Abby). She tried to ask her but that didn't seem to go very well.

_After hours of giggling and chatting about their lives and figuring out everything from favorite book (both love Utopia) to favorite cleaning supply (well they are both servants!):_

"_Oh Abby, I'm really so happy I met you. I was so scared I'd be lonely here. I don't know anyone." Danielle remarked._

"_I'm really happy to have met you too. I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."Abby said._

"_I agree whole heartedly. Abby can I ask you something?"Asked Danielle who was never very good at containing her curiosity._

"_Sure. Go for it."Abby replied with that same genuine smile Danielle first noticed about her._

"_Why don't you like Prince Henry?"_

"_Oh."Danielle could see Abby's bright features visually droop._

"_Danielle, to be honest I'd rather not talk about it…right now anyway. Just please if you see him stay away. Trust me he's not good news."_

The whole next morning Danielle could not stop wondering. What could Henry have done to make such a sweet girl like Abby so upset? She wanted more than anything to ask again but knew that probably wasn't the smartest move. At least not yet. She was sure there must be some misinterpretation. She'd be sure to ask Henry the next time she sees him. Which to be honest at the moment she felt did not look to be any time soon. After breakfast which was actually a pretty decent tasting porridge (which she was absolutely sure she would not be served if she worked anywhere else besides the palace) she was assigned her first job: stable cleaning. Ughhh. M. DeVaulle had a very smug expression when she assigned this job. It seemed she still wasn't over her encounter with the prince the previous night. Danielle loved horses but not really cleaning up after them and she was sure doing a whole stable's worth was not going to be enjoyable.

After hours of cleaning all of the stables, she went to groom the horses. When a young man looking no older than 22 entered the stable. Even as an engaged woman it was impossible not to notice that he was rather good looking and definitely of high social stature. But he did not even glance at Danielle as he selected a horse and led it out of the stable. Although he did not acknowledge her existence, it was nice to have a few moments of company. By the time she was given her 15 minutes of lunch break she was put on laundry duty. Finally she thought she's at least going to have company and be going into the palace. Maybe even see Henry.

Unfortunately though while doing laundry duty, she realized pretty quickly that there was no chance of her seeing Henry. She had to enter through a servant's entrance which was not connected to where the Royals walked and led straight to the laundry room (which was a dark dingy room half the size of a football field). But there were at least other women in this room as she'd hoped.

"Oh look at this hole!" a woman who looked to be in her mid thirties scowled while holding up a huge table cloth with a hole the size of a nickel in it. The table cloth was lovely though, made of the finest material that Danielle had ever seen besides for the clothes that Henry wore.

"Oh well I better run this to the seamstress."The woman announced and exited the room.

The whole of the room was busy but then again did not seem too stressed at the same time. Around the room she could see chatting all around her. This was definitely the most relaxed setting she's seen at the castle yet.

"Hi, I'm Michelle."Said a blonde tall girl beside her.

"Oooh and I'm Monique" said the stouter red head to her right.

"Hi, I'm Danielle. I just started working here."

"Ooh a newbie. Poor girl. Where did you come from? Did Madame DeVaulle just snatch you?" asked Michelle with a pitying glance .

"No actually the prince had found me and brought me here" Both girls stared in shock at Danielle for this statement.

"The prince has never brought anyone here before. You must have done some to catch his eye." Danielle somehow managed to control herself from bursting out in laughter from the irony.

"Well he's definitely caught my eye." Monique said dreamily. "Hmmm he is quite handsome.

"Don't even kid yourself!" Michelle responded a little too harshly. "He could have any girl in all of France. I'm sure he plans on going for a peasant like us. Honestly, the amount of girls who throw themselves for even a piece of him…. It's ridiculous."

This news somehow shocked Danielle. She had always known how Margureete and the Baroness had fawned over Henry but she had never really thought about the other ladies in the kingdom. Of course they would be all over him. He was the prince. A damn good looking one at that. This definitely brought on a whole new set of issues to the forefront of her impending marriage. Somehow he had failed to mention any of these girls she noticed.

"It's not so ridiculous you know." Danielle snapped back. "I mean…. It's not like it could NEVER happen…"she said ending a little less sharply.

Both girls burst into hysterical laughter.

"Oh Danielle you live in quite a fairytale."


	4. Chapter 4

On her way back to the stable for her night cleaning shift Danielle wondered about what Monique and Michelle had said. How could she manage to compete with all the beautiful wealthy eligible ladies in the kingdom when she could not even see or be with her Prince? To her surprise when she reached the stable there he was, stroking a rather large brown horse. She fell on her face at the sight of him.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Danielle whispered so that no one who might be in the vicinity could hear her.

"I came to see you my love" Henry chuckled while helping her off the ground. Of course he looked as handsome and clean as ever while she was covered in soot and hair was all over the place she thought.

"How did you know where to find me?"Danielle asked.

"Well I told Madame DeVaulle I wanted to check to see if you were still around." He stated flatly.

"Henry won't she be suspicious?" asked Danielle in an anxious tone.

"I don't know, maybe. But to be honest what could she really do? I needed to see you. I missed you." He said while pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Oh Henry I missed you more than you can imagine. I'm so alone here…well besides for Abby that is." Danielle did not know whether it was smart to mention Abby after what Abby had said about Henry. Perhaps he hated her as much as she hated him.

"Who's Abby?" Guess not..Danielle mused.

"She's another servant-girl I became friends with. She sleeps in the bed next to me." Said Danielle wondering if now Abby might ring a bell.

"At least you made a friend. I wish I could be here with you. It drives me crazy to know that you're so close to me and yet I have no idea where you are."Henry said.

Danielle reached up and kissed Henry deeply on the lips. He smiled gazing into her eyes. Then Danielle picked up the stable equipment and started to clean.

"What are you doing?"Henry asked admittedly annoyed.

"We can talk while I clean but I will get into a lot of trouble if I do not finish my duties for tonight."Henry did not like the sound of it.

"I would not let them get you into trouble. I have power around here….."Henry said defensively.

"I know you do, sweetheart, but how would you know?" said Danielle in a slightly defeated tone.

"Ughhh that gets me so angry… all right. Why don't you take a break and let me clean up."

Danielle couldn't help breaking out into a fit of laughter at the notion. She was pretty sure he'd never held a broom in his whole life.

"Why the hell not? I should leave you my lovely princess to do this while I just sit here."Danielle ignored the lovely princess comment, knowing that it was far from the truth at the moment.

"And let you get that snazzy outfit of yours all dirty I don't think so." Fought back Danielle.

"I don't care about the stupid outfit I'm not useless, you know." Said a very frustrated Henry.

"hmmm you're cute when you pout." He continue to glare at her.

"You think this is funny. Well it's not. I hate watching you like this. Let me give you a break. You can order me around for once." He said winking at her on the last part.

"I don't think so. If they found out that you were doing my job I'd have to face a lot worse than a dirty floor and you know it. So just sit back and relax my liege" She was definitely joking on the last part but Henry could tell it did not hit her eyes.

Suddenly there was a knock on the stable door.

"HENRY! Where have you been, your father and I called for you ten minutes ago. We have some very important matters to discuss with you. Who are you talking to?"

Danielle ducked down and pretended to be cleaning a corner of the stall as the Queen entered the room. This was the first time that Danielle had ever really been up close to her mother-in –law to be before. Sure there was the ball, but she was a little too busy focusing on being ratted out to the whole kingdom and having her beloved ending their relationship to notice her. The Queen had a tough exterior of a monarch but Danielle could tell her eyes were purely gentle as they looked lovingly at her only son.

"Oh I'm sorry mother," Henry replied cooly. "I hadn't known you'd called. I wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, just thinking aloud."

"Not about anything too important I hope." She said as she glanced at Danielle for the first time since entering the room.

"No, nothing of importance." Henry replied as they walked out of the room together with Danielle still sitting on the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

**I am sorry to all my readers that this chapter is so late. I've had a little trouble because of school and then just general writer's block. I hope it'll go a little faster after this chapter. Thank you so much to all of the reviewers!!! I loved hearing what you had to say. Sorry if this chapter is a little messy it's been a while. I might fix it up later. I had a lot of trouble with this one so if you don't like this chapter I'm sorry but I do know how I want the story to go. This is just a connecting point, just wait for the next one!**

By Danielle's third week in the castle she'd already gotten a pretty good handle on how things ran. The work load was tough but she'd been through worse and this time she had a fiancée who supposedly loved her around.

Unfortunately Danielle did not get to see Henry as often as she'd like. Although they tried frequently, their meetings were impossible to plan and pretty much always spontaneous. It unnerved Danielle that although she rarely got to see her husband-to-be, the prince, she spent more than enough time waiting on her future -in- laws and guests. She prayed when the time would come they would not recognize her. Henry refused to call on her or have her serve him, though she told him many times she'd rather serve him than do other jobs in the palace.

But during those long stretches of time when Henry was nowhere to be seen, Danielle was pleasantly surprised she was never lonely. Abby had proved herself to be great company and a great friend throughout Danielle's time there, especially because Mme DeMaurier had decided to use Danielle as her own personal test dummy for new punishments and the most grueling jobs. She never seemed to get over the embarrassment Danielle had caused with the prince. Danielle would never tell Henry this though, because as she looked at it the fool would blame himself and this wasn't his fault in the least. This was her idea and she'd take these consequences any day if this was all it would take for her to be with Henry.

Abby though stuck by Danielle and would often even join her and help her with the jobs. For the first time in her life Danielle had not only a girl friend but a best friend. Gustave was a great friend and she loved him like a brother, but he was not a girlfriend. She never had a friend to cry to or that she wanted to tell all her secrets to. The irony is that before Abby she never had a friend she _couldn't_ tell her secrets to either. It wasn't that she couldn't trust her with the relationship of her and Henry's but rather that Abby hated him so much she didn't exactly know or want to know for that matter how Abby would take the news. But this new friendship was definitely the highlight of her time working at the castle. All the stories Danielle told Henry seemed to revolve around her new best friend. Henry listened dutifully to every word.

One night in the stable though during one of her stories…

"Oh Henry, you won't believe what happened next! Abby literally took that bowl of porridge and threw it out the window! No one ever learned she had sneaked it in the first place!" Danielle said excitedly. Henry laughed. He loved watching her when she got so enthusiastic.

"The best part is later that day I heard a rumor that the porridge hit Lord Dansworth 's horse right in the head. Abby and I could not stop laughing, it was so great." Danielle continued.

"I'm happy you made such a great friend. Abby sounds like quite a character." Henry said "Love, Just so you know if you want to tell Abby our secret I wouldn't protest. I think she's earned our trust and it might be nice for someone else to know. Besides I would like to meet her… if she felt comfortable with that. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. It's funny I've probably seen her dozens of times and just hadn't known it."

"Ummm probably not…."Danielle started uncomfortably as Henry looked a little confused. "You see there is actually something I wanted to bring up with you about Abby….well I guess it's more of a question..l mean it's a little awk-"

"Danielle," Henry interrupted "you can ask me anything. What's wrong?" Henry asked.

"Ummm… well the truth is the reason you've probably not seen Abby around is that she pretty much avoids you like the plague…" Danielle said awkwardly.

"Does she have something against royalty?" Henry asked wondering if maybe he did not like this girl as much as he thought. "Because you know as well as I do that once she gets to know a little more about us than what she hears she will feel differently." Henry said in his most convincing voice.

"No, I wish it was like that. But it's not the royal family she has anything against… it's just you. And well I was sort of wondering if you might have some type of idea why that is…" Danielle said.

"I'm sorry darling but I really have no clue. I don't even know who she is. Are you sure she feels this way? Maybe she's just intimidated by me?" Henry said in a way more trying to convince himself than Danielle.

"No. I'm positive she positively hates you."Danielle blurted out bluntly. " I just can't imagine what you could have done to make her so hostile towards you…"

"Umm… Danielle, I'm so sorry. The truth is as you know I haven't always been as sensitive as I am now to the feelings of the palace staff… I wouldn't be so surprised if I had done something that would have made her so upset." Henry looked down ashamed as he said this. Before Danielle came into his life he didn't care at all about anyone in the castle besides for him and his family. Danielle changed everything for him.

"Don't feel guilty Henry. I love you and I know that you've changed. You could have done anything to me. You could have turned me into a mistress or worse… but you asked me to be your wife. I don't care about what you did then, it's the person you are now that matters to me."

Henry wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and kissed her tracing the path of her arms from her fingertips to her lips. She could never understand how much her love meant to him. That she loved him solely based on who he was on a person and not based on what he could do for her.

They continued to kiss for several minutes until they realized there was light coming through the suddenly opened stable door and standing there was Abby her eyes filled with betrayal.


	6. Chapter 6

**I know I know I have been TERRIBLE. Worse than terrible even. It's just been a crazy hard year and I am still in the middle of finals now! But I know you're not looking for excuses. Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed it made such a difference I probably would have given up this story completely if it wasn't for you. I can't promise too much soon because I'll be working in a camp but I'll try. Please keep reviewing it's DEFINITELY an incentive. Oh and just fyi I do have a plan… there just needs to be a little filler to connect it…**

Before Danielle had any chance to explain, Abby had already fled. Danielle didn't know what to do so she started to cry.

"Oh my love, don't cry. It will be okay. Shhh please don't cry. I promise we'll fix this." Henry said as he stoked her back trying to comfort her kissing her lightly on the forehead. This was a field unfortunately he had little experience in. He felt terrible though. It was all his fault. Why did he have to be such a complete Jack Ass before he met her. How did he miss the value of people like Danielle… and Abby.

"I could have prevented this. I should have just told her the truth." Danielle said still bawling her heart out. "I just didn't want to ruin it. I don't think she could ever forgive me. I'm sorry I know this isn't your fault I'm being insensitive about all this."

"Please I beg of you don't apologize" Henry cringed at the concept. "This _is_ all my fault. I made big mistakes. I promise you though I will speak to her. This was my mistake not yours. I'm sorry that I hurt you." Henry saw it now. Everything about their situation was throwing her down and hurting her somehow or another. She thought that she was fortunate that a prince would ever notice her but she was wrong. He knew she was wrong. He was the luckiest man alive that he found one of the most caring sensitive hard working people when society tried its hardest to hide her from him. Yet here he was screwing it up. He would not let that happen.

"Henry I betrayed her trust. She told me to stay away. She told me you hurt her deeply and that she hated you. I should have told her the truth then. It needs to come from me now. You can speak to her afterwords but unfortunately this problem can not be just fixed by you. It needs to be fixed by both of us. Together. I love you Henry and I love her as well. I just hope that she will realize this." Danielle gained control over herself. She realized how much her reaction over this was hurting him and sometimes when you love something that's what has to come first.

That night after pulling herself together Danielle came back to her quarters. She found Abby eyes shut and her hands balled in fists. If she wasn't so upset she'd admit it was pretty funny to watch Abby's pathetic attempt at pretending to be asleep.

"Abby… Abby…. Please talk to me. I know you're awake. Abby I need to explain. I promise you it's not what you think…" Danielle said while standing right in front of Abby's head when all of a sudden Abby shot up.

"YOU PROMISE IT'S NOT WHAT I THINK! What so you haven't been lying to me for the past three weeks and you haven't ignored every warning I gave you about that arrogant son of a - -"

"Alright that's enough! I do not know what he did to you (which might I add is because you never TOLD me) but I did nothing that warrants this kind of reaction. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about us. But it's not just some fling. I didn't ignore your opinions or anything like that. You're my best friend your opinion means the world to me but you have to understand… I love him…."As Danielle finished she noticed that Abby didn't look that angry anymore she looked… pitying?

"Ughhhh Danielle seriously. He is tricking you. I'm sorry sweetheart. He's a heartless jerk. When a prince wants a quick one well a servant is easier to keep a secret than a mistress…" At this point Danielle was crying again. She was not one to cry often but Abby, a person who was generally a sweet and kind person, was just repeating all of her most secret fears. But she knew could not start doubting Henry.

"Abby he brought me here to the castle. We meet whenever we can. Trust me he loves me. He is my **fiancée**!" Danielle pulled herself together and said this with such an air of confidence she even surprised herself. At least this seemed to wipe the pitying glance off of Abby's face.

"I assure you this is no trick. We've gone to hell and back to make this work. I know you don't like him but I promise you it's because you don't know him." Danielle explained. But then Abby did something that Danielle really did not expect. She started to laugh.

This was not an over joyous laugh or a nervous laugh. This was a laugh that showed true misery and resentment.

"I don't know him? Danielle he RUINED my life!"

and then Abby began her story.

**I know guys I'm mean and cruel. I was going to add in what happens next in this chapter but I figured then it would just take me longer to get out. I'm in the middle of finals now so things are pretty difficult. But I will try to get out another chapter before I leave to camp which is in the coming week. **


	7. Chapter 7

**TO MY FAITHFUL READERS—**

**I am sorry it took me so long to post. To be honest I had given up on this story for good. Not because I had no good ideas but because I was no longer interested in writing. This week for some odd reason that changed and I have decided to try to continue this story. I hope you enjoy there is much more to come. Please review it's a great incentive. **

"It happened when I was 12."Abby began. "Mama had died three years earlier birthing what would have been our first brother. My sister and I had no father, but we didn't ask any questions. She was a special lady though. Raised me and my sister to be proud of who we were no matter our station. To accept our lot in laugh with a smile on our faces. " Danielle noticed how not once did Abby did not look up to gauge Daniella's reaction. She seemed to be lost in a world of her own memories.

"When she died my sister, Carletta, took over her position both as a maid in the castle and as my guardian. By the time I turned 11 and Carletta was 14 I joined her in her duties as a servant in the castle. She sheltered me and cared for me. Reminded me often how much she loved me and how important it was for us to stick together. She was all I had in the world but that was ok because she was all I needed. " Danielle was beginning to understand for the first time why Abby was so different than everyone else she has met. Abby grew up feeling loved and appreciated, which is not something most servants can claim.

"I waited up for her one night but she didn't return. It was unusual for a servant to be asked to work a double shift day and night but not unheard of so I did not panic. Sure enough in the morning she did return but she was not the same sister whom I grew up with. She had bruises along her wrists, her face was blotchy clearly from crying for hours, her hair in total disarray which was in contrast to her usual very put together appearance. "Abby at this point had tears streaming out of her eyes as well, matching her sister's pain.

"She would not tell me what happened that night. We had told each other everything up until then. At first I felt betrayed only later did I realize that she, as usual, was protecting my innocence. Every night thereafter she did not return and rather was given the morning as break. There were no more tears though after the first morning."

"I got sick and tired of this new Carletta. I wanted to find out what was happening. I was under the impression that I could fix it. My naivety was as pervasive as ever." A deeply bitter tone that Danielle did not recognize was now making itself known. "So I decided to follow her one night. I ditched my night time duties, assuming any punishment would be worth finally knowing what was wrong with my sister. Little did I know any punishment would be a thousand times less painful than what I saw that night."

"I found her doing her normal nighttime duty as of this month serving to the Prince and his cronies." Danielle's stomach dropped. Before she was upset that Abby hadn't opened up to her but now that she was finally going to find out what it was that her fiancé had done, she didn't think she was ready. "There were a bunch of them sitting there laughing, drinking, being boys dropping things and ordering her to pick them up. Childish things like that. After most of the boys retired for the evening, only the prince and a boy named James stayed. James was boasting how he had done the deed with the servant already 6 times in the past week. I think his exact words were 'that lucky bitch didn't even have the decency to thank me afterwards. The nerve of the commonfolk.' Henry just laughed along at my sister's expense while James grabbed my sister and pressed her against the wall. 'You like it don't you?' he asked her with a smug smile on his face. 'Yes sire' she replied as the dutiful servant. He started to feel around her body out there flagrantly in the open in front of the Prince and all the other staff present. 'Henry you might want to try this one too' He offered. 'She starts out wild but she wasn't that hard to tame.' "

"At that moment I realized finally why Carletta came back so empty and cold. All the life had been sucked out of her by this leech, this parasite. The Prince declined the offer quite impassively and I quote "yes, I'm sure the royal court would have a field day with me fooling around with some cheap commoner. Some things are not worth the risk my friend. " Abby paused and gave Danielle a pointed stare. Every word she quoted of Henry's Danielle could not fit to the man she loved. The words were like daggers into her heart. This was no longer just about Abby's sister. But then again it never was.

After a moment Abby continued "'It's not like they will be much happier with you'. The prince reasoned 'You're father would have your head.' At this point I could no longer watch what James did to my sister as he manhandled her and took her into a closet to what I presume was a raping. For days it continued this way with my sister having no idea that I now knew her deepest secret. She got better at dealing with it during the day and if I hadn't known the truth she might have been able to fool me into thinking she was back to normal. But I did know and was most certainly not fooled. I started coming up with plans for how to extract her from the situation or maybe even to run away with her. But in the end all my plans were futile because one morning she never came back. " At this point Danielle couldn't hold it in anymore. She started to cry. Cry for Carletta, for Abby, for herself, and a part of her even cried for Henry, how awful it must be to live with such deeds. "I didn't know what happened to her and I panicked. Eventually I heard through the rumor mill what happened to her. Apparently James started to suspect that word was traveling past just the servant population of his relationship with my sister. He could not handle society's reaction and asked his dear old fried, your loverboy, to dispose of the evidence of his infraction. So he did what any master does when he wants to get rid of his servant. He sold her… to the Americas. By the time I learned the whole truth my sister must have been living in America for at least a month. I never saw her again and I have been alone ever since. I lost my best friend and mentor that day and I will never ever forget that."

Danielle snapped. She couldn't take listening anymore she was so furious. She ran out of the room to catch her baring. How could Henry ever have been so cruel? How could she have allowed herself to associate with such a monster?! This creature looked at those below his class as being useless pawns meant to be used for the amusement of the high and mighty. But as she thought these words (and many variations) in her mind and even murmured them softly to herself she realized that she was lying to herself. She knew that these words no longer fit the man that proclaimed his love for her. The man that repeatedly offered to give up his crown and country for a peasant whom he loved. This man was not the same as that boy, the beast.

Wouldn't she be just as bad as he to judge him for who he is no longer? Abby does not see the changes of course she still hates him, as she should. But Danielle who is living proof of the fact that Henry is no longer that boy had no right to feel such thoughts. And at that very moment Danielle pushed those thoughts away and walked back into the room.


End file.
